


Magnifiqué

by gisho



Series: Background Characters [9]
Category: Girl Genius
Genre: Meta, Mid-Canon, canon-typical explosions, literal cake
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-14
Updated: 2018-10-14
Packaged: 2019-07-29 20:33:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16271834
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gisho/pseuds/gisho
Summary: Wherin a patisserie gets a little too ambitious paying tribute to an opera heroine. (Written for GG Event Week 2018.)





	Magnifiqué

\--

The cake stands tall and proud on the table. Two tiers, the first dripping with sparkling pink icing - that had been tricky, after the last batch of icing sparkle had turned out to be full of hypnochemical droplets as part of some madgirl from Zurich's scheme to take over the Paris confectionary industry, but Remy had finally gotten the recipe and made this batch himself, from scratch. On top, a fondant figurine, waving a spun-sugar sword proudly in the air. Every piece edible. Soliel Patisserie didn't do keepsake toppers.

"Alright," Emilie says, hands on her hips. "What's the catch?"

"Catch?"

"Last time I let you design an opera cake you filled it with raspberry syrup and liquorice spiders. _Spiders_."

"Madame, it was based on _The Castle of Vlad the Unholy_. Spiders fit the theme. They should have been expecting spiders."

"Don't call me madam."

Remy ducks his head to hide his smile. "Yes, Auntie."

"And don't draw false comparisons. Nobody expects spiders _inside_ their dessert, even if there were spiders on the outside. What have you hidden in my Lady Heterodyne Magnifique?"

"Nothing bad, I swear."

"But there is something."

"If you slice it horizontally there's a gear pattern. Pink gear in yellow cake. I really wanted to make it vertical but I couldn't work out any way to keep the batter from mixing and if you think about it that'd take a toroidal shape anyway so this is more accurate. Don't you think?" Remy grins. That's his story and he's sticking to it. "But there's nothing in there but cake. Really."

"Hmm." Emilié taps her foot and frowns at the cake. There's a glint in her eye. The last time she looked like that she made Remy spend the whole afternoon stirring chocolate melts without tasting any, but the time before, she invented the Shortbread Tower, so Remy feels hopeful. "I appreciate your restraint," she finally says, "and that's an excellent idea we might poach for log cakes, but we _are_ talking about the Lady Heterodyne. If we can surprise customers without actually scaring them ... What ideas did you have and decide were too dangerous?"

"Just one," Remy admits. "And it might need help from an alchemist."

\--

When the dust has settled Elizabeth pokes her head up over the upturned table. "I think they're gone now."

"My goodness." Her father still looks pale and slightly sick. "Paris is certainly - exciting."

"Statistically that was extremely improbable."

"It would still have been preferable to have our _pain au chocolat_ in the absence of explosions. And gunfire. I know the French can afford to be slapdash, but one would hope they'd show a bit of restraint." He shudders theatrically. "Now where did - oh, dear."

Elizabeth follows his eyes across the floor, where the remains of their _pain au chocolat_ are resting, smashed between what looks like an artist's sketchpad and a large footprint. 

There was a fellow who was sketching the _Lady Heterodyne Magnifiqué_ , Elizabeth remembers, or possibly the lady who was eating it. He had the sense to get out when the wall blew in, apparently. But things are quieter now; Elizabeth darts out before her father can muster a protest, and grabs the sketchpad. 

Completely ruined. Not that it was much loss, in her opinion; that is _not_ a very interesting pose. Some people aim for lascivious and hit absurd.

There's a gasp in an unfamiliar voice - no, not completely unfamiliar. The boy who took their orders. "Pardonezz - ah - Are you unhurt?"

"We're fine," Elizabeth tells him, despite the blunt evidence that her father is succumbing to the delayed effects of terror with a shaking fit. "Do you have any tea?"

"Tea! Yes! On the house."

\--

"All things considered," Remy mumbles, "maybe it's for the best we couldn't get the special effects to work?" He takes another gulp of tea. It had seemed to have magical restorative effects on the Englishman who'd lost his pain au chocolat, but it's doing nothing for Remy. 

"Hhmph," says Emilié, and takes another forkful of the abandoned Lady Heterodyne Magnifiqué. "At least now we know the explosions are accurate. If only we still had a front window."

"Well, Auntie ..."

"What's your bright idea now'?"

He realizes he's twirling his fork, because it's easier than meeting his aunt's eyes. "Lots of places do opera cakes. How many have the subjects come in and try them? We could spin it a little. Pardon our dust, the Lady Heterodyne stopped here even while she was pursued by her enemies. Something like that. In our newspaper ads?"

Emilié sets down her fork, conspicuously dusts her hands off, and claps him on the shoulder. "I like it," she declares. "It's a good story. We can sell a lot of cakes with a good story."

\--


End file.
